Regions join race to attract oil and gas

Published: Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 11:10 p.m.

The promise of billions of dollars in offshore oil and gas investment spurred business groups and chambers throughout the Gulf Coast to ramp up efforts in a sort of regional arms race.

At the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston this past week, there were a few non-corporate entities on display.

One was Alabama, which had a booth promoting its website, OffshoreAlabama.com. The first of its kind website was created at the behest of local executives by the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce. This marked the group’s third appearance at the international conference.

“Business driven, Mobile is home to the Port of Alabama, five Class 1 railroads, two Class III railroads, three air cargo providers, more than 60 trucking companies, two interstate highways, Brookley Airport and Aeroplex and Mobile Regional Airport,” the introduction page of the website reads.

The advantages being advertised by the Mobile, Ala., contingent are the exact weaknesses that south Louisiana business and trade groups have been lamenting; adequate waterfront space, world class roads and highways and a readily trained and skilled workforce.

“It’s a logistical nightmare in this region. We have problems with our highways. We have problems finding auto technicians. It’s crazy,” said Vic Lafont, president and chief executive of the South Louisiana Economic Council. “As we attract more people to the region, our companies and our infrastructure get exhausted. Our services get exhausted.”

South Louisiana’s business organizations are putting together their own armaments to help alleviate some of the crowding that oilfield hysteria has caused. Lafont himself has been finding automotive technicians and bringing them to local dealerships, where backlogs have created headaches.

The South Central Industrial Association, which represents many of the fabricators and contractors who service the oil and gas industry, has spent years developing programs like WorkIt! Louisiana, which aims to promote technical training and skills training in local area schools.

“We tried a lot of really creative things, and we pulled people into the region,” Lafont said. “If it’s going to work, we have to grow it. These jobs are now, so everybody is trying to find any way they can contribute to the existing situation while we are still working on the long range.”

Louisiana Economic Development had a large presence, as it usually does at the conference.

“What the state of Louisiana has done is provide incentives to help our parishes and regions to attract and retain oil and gas business,” said Don Pierson, senior director of business development for Louisiana Economic Development. “We are not really competing over the same companies within the state. Some companies might need port space, others need specific feedstocks. We are working hard to have a robust inventory of available sites.”

South Louisiana, more specifically the Houma-Thibodaux metropolitan area, also has secret weapon in its tackle box: experience.

“Houston is the hub. Lafayette is headquarters to a lot o service company, but this is the trenches. This is where we pull it out the ground. This is where we find it, so there is a rapid pace of a myriad of companies who are moving in real time,” Lafont said.

Stephen Russell, director of business retention and expansion for the Mobile Area Chamber, said that his organization can only offer an alternative until waters in the east Gulf open for drilling.

“We are sort of in the central Gulf of Mexico, so our clients really depend on location,” Russell said. “If it is in the central or western Gulf, we are fighting an uphill battle. We are really the prime location for offshore activity in the eastern Gulf, but we are a neophyte in this.”

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